Scent
by cutecrazyice
Summary: On a warm, sunny day, Sasuke finds the one person he never expected to see again. But things are not what they seem. SasuSaku
1. Meeting

_**a/n**: Initially written for SSM, but I never got to finish it on time. Then I forgot all about it. A big thanks to smos and the general girl for reading this through. YOU'RE AWESOME.  
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><p><strong>Scent<br>**_by: cutecrazyice_**  
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. . .

The scent of spicy chicken wafted through the air tantalizingly, bringing about buyers in the marketplace that was usually less crowded over the weekends. The source of the crowd was a new food stall, right in the middle of other stalls containing jewelries, fruits, and some native trinkets and basic necessities. Smart move, really, because when you thought about it, people who shopped grew hungry and looked for food – and people who ate and were well fed became happy and shopped some more.

Sasuke usually hated crowds, but this time, he didn't mind so much. They were lying low until the war was completely over, and for their team of mismatched misfits, crowds usually meant less attention – that is, if they kept their weapons and special abilities hidden. That had been Suigetsu's problem in the beginning until Sasuke (and a screaming Karin) finally managed to convince him that bringing his sword around proudly (and threatening anyone, even civilians, who dared look at him oddly) was _not_ the synonym of lying low.

Now, the four members of Akatsuki looked around them in silence, weapons hidden somewhere safe and outfits resembling those of civilians.

"Well," Karin announced without preamble. "I'm off to the weapons shop." She made a move to step forward, then stopped, placing one hand on her hip and giving Sasuke her patented sultry look. "Care to join me, Sasuke-kun?"

Suigetsu scoffed. "What are you talking about? I'm pretty sure the only weapon you want to see is the one attached to Sasuke's bod-eeeouch!"

After hitting the shark-man with a particularly painful elbow jab on the ribs, Karin left in a huff, cheeks pink and expression angry.

"Damn woman," Suigetsu muttered, rubbing his skin and wincing. Then his eyes focused on something and his whole stance brightened. "Heeey, I see some nice-looking girls in the flower stall there. What do you say we charm their sandals off, Juugo, buddy? Want to come, Uchih – oh, never mind. You'll just steal the spotlight, as usual."

And then they were off, with Suigetsu dragging the giant man and said giant man looking like he wanted to be nowhere near those girls.

Contemplating, Sasuke tried to organize his thoughts to determine his first priority for the day. It had been a long time since his priority had not involved lines like _killing somebody, avenging somebody _and_ destroying somebody_, and he was sort of lost. Eyes straying towards three jumbled stalls, he decided.

He went to the fruit stall.

It was a colorful section, with apples and bananas and all kinds of fruits for sale at cheap prices – not that he cared, because he was already eyeing the wonderful stack of tomatoes that beckoned to him like no other fruit could. Picking up the one on top, he held it close to his eyes for scrutiny, looking for the slightest scratch or blemish. There was none, so he placed one hand inside his pocket, searching for the silver coin of the correct amount—

"Sir, can you tell me what these flowers are? They smell familiar."

—and froze.

"Those are lilacs and peonies, miss. The ones beside them are sweet peas."

Without thinking, Sasuke reached for his sword at the same time he remembered that they had hidden it somewhere to avoid detection. He had altered appearance, hadn't he? He had concealed his chakra, too, and had changed his movement patterns enough to dissuade any suspicion.

Sakura would never recognize him.

Silently willing his hand to relax, but his mind to stay alert, he listened in on the conversation, not daring to turn his head. There were some appreciative noises behind him, followed by questions to the vendor.

"No wonder they smell familiar. And they're really fragrant!"

"They only come from the best seeds, miss."

"How much are they?"

The vendor muttered a price, to which Sakura made another set of appreciative noises. It bothered him slightly how she was just as cheerful as always, with everything going on in their village right now and the threat still hanging over their world in general. Even with Madara gone, under Sasuke's own hands, it still wasn't safe. There was still Kabuto, among others.

But everything was forgotten at Sakura's next words.

"Can you tell me what colors I have in my hand?"

Without meaning to, Sasuke's head swiveled, catching a flash of pink hair and colorful flowers gripped gently in ivory hands. It was too late to turn back, and it wasn't like he could, because his gaze had strayed to where her eyes should have been, and it was too much of a shock for him to ignore.

They were a clear white. The greens were gone.

The vendor, who had been busy assisting another customer, came back to her and finally answered her question. Sakura burrowed her nose in the flowers and sniffed, a small smile on her lips. Then she dug in her pockets for some change, awkwardly feeling them out with her thumb to find the correct coin amount. Upon thanking the vendor, she reached out her other hand beside her, taking hold of a wooden cane that was perched beside the stall and using it in front of her as she slowly began to walk away from the place. From him.

It took Sasuke a minute to comprehend what he had witnessed, and to absorb. It took him another to realize that the beating in his ears wasn't from an outside source, but somewhere inside. Trying to reign it in (because really, outside there was no change in his reaction), he finally realized that someone was speaking to him.

"Boy, you're crushing my tomato!"

And he was. Sasuke stared at the wilted fruit in his hand before absently getting his coins and paying quickly. He left the tomato in its original place and turned his attention back to where he had spotted her walking away. The space was empty, except for some strangers walking by who didn't have a single strand of pink on their head.

"What the…that dull lady didn't give me the correct amount!"

The outraged shout of the flower vendor was enough to have several of the people turn in his direction, including Sasuke. Without thinking, he spoke.

"Then maybe you should pay attention before you let a customer go."

The old man glared at him. Sasuke merely stared back, unwilling to let the man know his own surprise at his words, and his fury at himself for meddling in the first place. Who was she, anyway? An old teammate, really, who he hadn't seen since the war had started and who he never wanted to see again. They were his past, and he didn't want to look back anymore.

She was blind. Somewhere along the years, she had become blind.

It wasn't his business.

"Kenji, what are you doing glaring at a poor old man like that? Brother, you need to learn to control your temper sometimes."

Suigetsu's clear voice penetrated through Sasuke's thoughts as he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and comfortably rolled the alias in his tongue.

"Kenji, seriously. Let's leave the man alone."

The man in question kept on glaring, fisting the coins in his hand. "Are you this boy's brother?" he asked Suigetsu.

"Yes, sir," the shark boy replied.

"How are you related to that stupid girl?"

"What girl?"

"The one your brother was defending!" the man snapped.

Suigetsu blinked, then tried to keep a straight face. "I have no idea what you're talking about, sir. _She _is the only female we have with us – not that she _looks _female, but she really is – ooooouch!"

"Shut up," Karin hissed, pinching his arm menacingly. "What's the matter, Kenji-kun? Did somebody hurt my baby?"

"Are you his mother?" Suigetsu snapped.

"I said shut up!"

The noise was giving him a headache. Ignoring everyone, Sasuke simply said to Juugo that he would be back in an hour or two, and that nobody should follow him. Juugo nodded his head, half-occupied with the brewing fight between the always-bickering shark boy and red-haired girl.

Sasuke slipped away before they could notice.

. . .

It took him ten minutes to find Sakura, and to confirm that he really wasn't hallucinating. As quietly as possible, still baffled by the realization unfolding before him, he followed her as she walked the village with one hand gripping the flowers she bought, the other gripping her pointy cane, and her pace as relaxed as if she had all the time in the world. She turned her head slightly in the direction of children to her right, hearing their laughter and the way their slippers pounded as they ran around and played. She sat on a bench for around five minutes, burying her nose in the flowers again before counting them one by one, her hands hesitant in their movements. Standing up, she began to make her way towards the southern part of the village, where no children were out and most of the shops were downright shady-looking.

No one bothered her.

It was time for him to go. She obviously knew what she was doing, and he had no reason to keep trailing after her anymore. Nobody knew they were here.

Taking a step back from the lamp post he leaning in, Sasuke turned around and prepared to go back to the marketplace when she spoke.

"Why are you following me?"

He didn't exactly freeze, but surprise flitted across his face for a second before he could tamp it down.

Silence.

"I can feel you," Sakura continued, tone thoughtful. "Your chakra is faint, so I can't recognize it. But I know you've been following me."

Silence.

"Are you planning to mug me or something?"

Sasuke thought it was useless to remain quiet at this point. Toning his voice to sound different, he replied, "I'm not mugging someone who can't even pay for the flowers she bought."

Her face remained expressionless, though her hand slackened its hold on said flowers.

"That's impossible," she scoffed. "And what are you, then? The errand boy? I'm not paying a single cent. I paid for this already. Leave me alone."

She began walking again, away from him. Something about her gait had him narrowing his eyes, coming to a further conclusion – which, in turn, caused him to speak instead of shutting up.

"You used to be a kunoichi."

She stiffened, gripping her cane tighter.

"What makes you think I'm not anymore?"

Staying still, Sasuke observed her from head to toe, noting the semi-pristine white dress and civilian slippers.

"You're limping, and you're using chakra to make sure no one notices it – but not enough to completely disguise it, or cure your limp. And you can't see. Unless you're undercover, then I'd say you're a former kunoichi."

She visibly bristled at that, but calmed down enough to face him. "If that is a challenge, then I accept."

He scoffed. "I'm not fighting a blind girl."

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "That's good. You're not here to kill me, then. See you around."

Where was she off to? Was she really blind, or was this some sort of ploy? Sasuke considered for a split second before deciding to test it out. Without sound, he moved until he was standing in front of her.

She looked in his direction, but not in his eyes.

"Stop following me," she ordered calmly.

He remained silent. The irritation on her face was becoming clear as she determinedly walked forward, sidestepping him. The move was so flawless that his hand reached out before he could stop himself, wrapping around her wrist and feeling the silk and tender bones. It occurred to him that this was the first time he had touched her in a long time, and wondered why such a thought would come to his mind.

She paused at the touch, the unexpected warmth. He tried to ignore it, and concentrate on the way her frown deepened, and her hand tightened on her cane as she swung it at him with precision, aiming for his face.

He easily dodged it and took the object from her, one hand still on her. He tried to bring her closer, but she resisted, glaring now.

Then, as if changing her mind, she lunged at him.

It was such a childish move that he had no choice but to counteract it as if fighting a kid with a tantrum – by using her impact to take hold of her and sling her over his shoulder, then try to settle her back on her feet. But before she could fully reach the ground, she was already kicking at him, using her uninjured foot and landing on her other one.

There was almost a wince of pain, but she schooled her face into an expression of determination and annoyance.

"Leave me alone and give me back my cane."

"Go home to your village," he countered.

"Leave me alone and give me back my cane," she repeated.

"…go home."

"Leave me alone and give me back my – what, _no, _I—"

"Quiet," he hissed, one hand already clamping over her mouth and the other wrapping around her waist as he jumped and took her with him, leaving the cane behind and crowding them into the nearest wall in a semi-dark, hidden alley.

There had been a spike of chakra that didn't belong to Suigetsu, or his team, or any of the Leaf nin that he'd been acquainted with when he was young. It was suspicious, to say the least – but one look at her shocked face had him reevaluating the situation, and realizing that she was as vulnerable as an infant if she stayed in this place with no protection. Her pink hair alone advertised who she was, and her powerful connections with the Hokage.

With the nine-tailed fox.

He then realized that she was holding on to his shirt with fisted hands, and was not letting go. The mild scent of creamy mangoes drifted through his senses, reminding him of laughter and kids, of black masks and a memory that didn't quite vanish like he wanted it to. It took him a few seconds to process that his mouth was near her cheek, and his nose was touching her hair. She turned her head until her mouth was near his, despite her not knowing it.

She exhaled shakily, warm breath wisping out, crossing an invisible line.

He pulled back abruptly.

Obsidian eyes met white, and there was something almost like recognition in hers, despite the lack of pupils.

"You feel familiar," she whispered, fisted hands opening. Her palms felt smooth, yet scarred, over his shirt.

He removed them and scoffed, feeling angry. Did she always trust strangers so easily? What was wrong with her? "Blind people will always try to see everything as familiar."

"It's not that," she replied.

"Go home."

"I said—"

"Go. Home."

She sighed. "I don't know where it is."

His silence must have expressed his disbelief, because she added, "I mean, I _know _where it is, obviously – but I don't even know where I am. The villagers keep telling me to stop asking questions and rest and—"

"Stop telling strangers these things—"

"I don't think you're a stranger," she countered. "You feel…you feel like this person I knew. Years ago. But…you can't be him."

He inwardly froze. The question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

"Why?"

She smiled sadly. "He kills his friends. I'd have been dead already."

He locked away whatever answer he may have had to that.

Hesitantly, she moved away from the wall, one hand reaching out to touch his face. "Who are you?"

He took her wrist again before it could reach him, turning off all thoughts of that familiar warmth he felt in her skin earlier. She was no longer anything to him.

She'd never been anything but a part of his past, one he would never visit again.

With a flick of movement, he brought her closer and placed one hand at the back of her neck. She stiffened, her own hands automatically going for his wrists, ready to inflict chakra into his pressure points. Ah. Maybe she still knew how to defend herself, after all.

A moment passed as she tried to assess the situation.

"You're not going to kill me." Her voice didn't tremble. It wasn't a question.

"No," he replied.

A pause.

"But you're not safe here."

Then before she could react, he pressed his fingers first, infusing his chakra and feeling her weight slump down. She would have fallen to the ground if not for him holding her up, watching as her eyes slowly drifted close.

There had been no time for her to recognize his chakra, nor for her expression to change. Looking around, he tried to feel out for the foreign chakra again.

It was gone.

He thought of leaving her on the bench she sat in earlier before dismissing it as entirely cruel, and potentially risky. He inwardly scoffed at the irony before hitching her up in his arms and walking away from the alley.

She felt light, and soft. He felt the muscles underneath the softness, and wondered—

He stopped those thoughts before they could form.

There was only one thing left to do.

. . .

Suigetsu watched their black-haired leader walk back to the marketplace with a steady, brisk gait and an unreadable expression.

"Where are the two?"

"Ice cream shop. It was the best thing I could think of to cool down that irritating nerd."

"Hn. We need to go."

The silver-haired man observed Sasuke carefully as he said his next words.

"So that pink-haired girl…"

Silence.

"Heard she's a missing nin, three weeks back. Apparently she botched up some mission and never returned to the leaf village."

Silence. Tilting his head, Suigetsu kept observing.

"I didn't tell you because I thought you wouldn't care, anyway."

"I don't." The Uchiha's reply was blunt.

"Ah. Figured. So you wouldn't mind if we take her with us? She's pretty valuable. We can lure the kyuubi vessel, or even demand some terms from their Hokage. They won't be hunting us down anymore."

"No."

The answer surprised the shark man. "But—"

"I said no. I sent the village messenger to Konoha so they'd know her whereabouts."

"WHAT THE—"

"We don't need a blind girl with us. She'd just be a burden."

Regarding Sasuke thoughtfully, Suigetsu carefully considered his next words before speaking.

"But why tell Konoha if she's just a burden? What's the point?"

Expression of apathy remaining, the Uchiha replied, voice cold and calm.

"So they won't hunt us down anymore." Then he turned around and left.

Suigetsu stayed where he was, wondering why he felt something odd about that statement. A second later, he finally realized why.

Sasuke had explained instead of saying his usual _Hn._

He only did that when it was important.

. . .

An hour later, Sakura's eyes fluttered open.

"Ah, you're awake. Good. I was kind of worried about you."

Blinking, her blurry vision vanished and she saw Shikamaru sitting on a wooden chair beside the bed she was lying in, a frown marring his expression.

"Can you see me now?"

She blinked again, then squinted her eyes. "Yes. Yes, I can now."

"So your potion worked. Your vision is really back."

She smiled. "Of course my potion worked. What do you take me for?"

Shikamaru didn't smile back, moving his eyes in the direction beside Sakura. Curious, Sakura turned her head, too. Then she froze.

Beside her were the flowers she had bought, and her cane.

Quietly, Sakura picked up the flowers and sniffed them again. It overpowered the familiar scent of pine and hazy smoke, and made her slightly forget.

"It could be a peace offering," Shikamaru commented, eyeing her closely.

Sakura shrugged. "Or a challenge. We never know."

"True. I should never have brought up the plan. It was such a risk."

"Shikamaru, our job is to take that risk. It was a good plan."

"He could have killed you."

"Well, he didn't."

Throwing the flowers in the garbage can and removing the subtle chakra covering the green part of her eyes, Sakura blinked again. They watered but didn't hurt, which was a good thing.

"Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She tried to tell herself that she was fine, and everything was okay.

"Yeah. I'm okay."

She tried to tell herself her heart wasn't beating so fast, or that if it was, it was simply because of the adrenaline rush of almost getting killed.

"Shikamaru, I got the device in him now. We can track him."

He stared at her silently, hands in his pockets and stance calm. "You don't need to be so cold, you know."

"I'm not cold. I'm practical. We can't trust him."

Silence.

"Sakura."

"What?"

"You know we have to kill him, right? After we track Kabuto?"

A pause.

"Yeah. I know."

Another pause, before Shikamaru sighed and stood up to leave the motel room. Sitting up and touching the cane, Sakura closed her eyes and remembered one more time the way her ex-teammate smelled, and felt against her hands. The grief nearly overwhelmed her, making her hands tremble before she could stop it. Viciously willing her mind to calm down, she let chakra seep into her system, taking away the memory and the feeling that came with it.

A minute. Two. Then they were mentally locked, burrowed down where she could never find them again.

It was time to face reality.

A soft knock sounded on the door Shikamaru had just left in. Sighing, Sakura stood up, taking a kunai with her as she cautiously asked who it was.

"It's me," a male voice replied. It wasn't Shikamaru, but she knew who it was.

Her hand trembled again, but she steadied it, took a deep breath and opened the door.

Itachi stood on the other side.

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><p><em><strong>an**: I'm honestly not satisfied with this. D: I had a hard time writing Sasuke and his thoughts, as I wanted him to stay in character without being too psycho. I usually tend to stay in Sakura's head when writing SasuSaku, but this needed some Sasuke thoughts, imo.  
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_Also, I was initially supposed to write a fight scene between Sasuke and Sakura, but I suck at fight scenes and chickened out at the last minute. Lol._

_Um. Let me know what you think? If it sucked, tell me. If you liked it, tell me, too. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one. :)_

_P.S. Might be a twoshot or threeshot, but sticking to oneshot for now. The general girl told me I was being evil with the ending, but...yeah. Gotta think about the plot first, if this ever happens. Enjoy? :)_

_(alsoalsoalso, don't think I hate Karin! I just like having fun with her character, is all. No offense meant to all Karin-lovers out there)  
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	2. Chance

_**a/n**: Whoops. So sorry this is more than a month late. Work kept me busy. :( Anyway, I started writing this November 03, and given the rush, hopefully there aren't too many noticeable plot holes. THANK YOU so much for the review for the first chapter, guys. I'm really, really humbled and happy. :D**  
>dedicated to<strong>: ALL OF YOU. Yeah.  
><strong>special callout to<strong>: smos! Stell, I wanted to post this right away. LOL.  
><strong>warning<strong>: This is unbeta-ed. All mistakes are mine._

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><p><strong>Scent<br>**_by: cutecrazyice_

_. . .  
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Hearing about Itachi and the threat he used to pose in the society was a fascination every person had, right from the moment they became aware of who he was, what he had done and how his life had ended. It was a frightening story to most, a tragic story to some, and a subject for jokes to those who didn't really care who the Uchiha family was and what they once represented in Konoha.

Seeing him when he was still believed to be a villain and an active member of Akatsuki was a terrifying and oddly tantalizing experience, knowing that your fate was going to be in his hands the moment you looked him in the eye – a trap that assured you were dead even before you knew it could happen.

Seeing him now, when she finally knew the whole story, was a completely different experience.

There was such a certain aura he carried that even while he was outside the door, and she was inside, she couldn't help the thudding of her heart. This was the man who, despite his best intentions, murdered his whole family just to supposedly protect his brother from the ugly hold the Uchihas were gaining over power.

Even his own mother was not spared.

"May I come in?" he asked, almost courteously.

She nodded her head, as calm as any person out on a stroll in a pretty little garden with no worries in the world. At her consent, he went inside, graceful as a cat and just as silent. It was an awkward moment – for her, at least, as she was so stiff she had to refrain from rolling her shoulders just to test if they were still working. Eyes following him, she silently watched as he stood beside the window, gazing through the curtains with no expression on his face.

Silence.

Then he turned to look at her, and familiar black eyes made her breath catch in her throat for a second before she remembered her manners and gestured towards the motel's customary wooden chair. "Have a seat."

He shook his head and thanked her, painfully polite. Dressed in civilian clothes and holding a long piece of cloth that no doubt hid his sword, he kept on gazing at her for another quiet moment before he finally spoke.

"I take it the plan was a success."

It wasn't a question.

Sakura nodded her head again. "Of course. Now all we need to do is follow them."

_And avoid being tracked by Karin, avoid other shinobi or kunoichi who might have plans of kidnapping her or Itachi, maintain the blindness trick for precautionary measures…_

Just thinking about it all gave her such a headache that her fingers itched to make the herbal medicine that was more effective than the pills provided by their village. Her whole hand itched, too, wanting to raise her kunai and stab the older Uchiha right in the heart, watching blood spill out and surprise flit across his face—

She blinked, realizing he was still talking to her.

"How do you propose we do that? Will you disguise yourself again?"

Translation: her pink hair was too visible and well-known.

Taking a deep breath and finally loosening her tight grip on her kunai, the pink-haired medic nin launched into a speech of her plans, outlining the advantages and disadvantages and observing him for a reaction. There was none.

Three weeks ago, this man had cornered her and Shikamaru on their way home from a mission with a proposal that was bound to help them win the war – at least, in Tsunade's opinion, who wasn't about to let such an important person thought to be dead get away from Konoha's hands. Hence the uncertain partnership began, with them posing as missing nin and trailing after the one person who they were sure could lead them to the war instigator one way or another. Now that Madara was gone, it was time to focus on the other villain.

Karin was the key – and where Sasuke went, Karin went.

That made Sasuke the most vital part of this plan.

At the moment, Shikamaru thought the only problem was nudging Sasuke and his team along into actually looking for Kabuto and his resurrected minions before he resurrected more and it was all too late.

Sakura thought that wasn't the only problem.

She looked at Itachi once more. Just because he readily thrust himself into their hands, showed no sign of chakra or mind control from someone else and was acting like a person who really wanted to help (in his own Uchiha way) didn't mean she was buying it fully. She was going to watch him closely, very closely. And if he made one false move…

She'd be ready.

Pretending the thoughts in her head were non-existent, Sakura continued. "You need to disguise yourself, too. I have a potion that can help disguise our chakra so we won't be detected and—"

"No."

The interruption made her blink. "No?"

The older Uchiha watched her closely. "It's not necessary. I can follow you all without being detected."

"But Karin—"

"I won't be using chakra."

She stared at him uncertainly. "That will slow us down."

"You do not need to worry, Haruno-san. I can handle myself."

Letting that statement run around her mind, Sakura finally sat on the edge of the bed. There had to be a catch.

What was he up to? What did he want?

As if reading her mind, he spoke.

"I'm in whatever plan you and Nara-san come up with, so long as you promise me one thing."

She wanted to protest that promises weren't part of their deal, but the Hokage had warned her not to contradict him too much unless absolutely necessary.

"What do you want?"

A pause. Then he spoke again, voice still soft but with the impact of a thousand sharp points.

"Nothing will happen to my brother."

_Nothing will happen to my brother._

_Nothing will happen to my brother._

Silence.

Then she nodded. "Of course. Anything to win this war."

Surprisingly, it was getting easy to lie to Uchihas lately.

How she hated the feeling.

. . .

It wasn't until they were half an hour away from the small village that something triggered in Sasuke's brain like a nagging headache that wouldn't go away.

Suigetsu and Karin were arguing as usual, and Juugo was being his quiet self, commenting every now and then to pacify the bickering duo and sometimes turning to Sasuke to try to talk – not that it was welcome, because the Uchiha wasn't in the mood at all, and didn't give any leeway for any kind of conversation to start.

The sword-wielder was complaining that Karin had ruined his chances on any of the girls in the village just by simply being _there_, loud and grating and annoying – a statement which made the redhead's hackles rise and spout off the comeback that he was delirious if he thought he even had a chance with any girl at all.

"I mean, seriously? You think you're some hotshot who can have girls jumping you the moment you beckon them with your puny little finger? As if. You're _not _Sasuke-kun, so stop fantasizing!"

"You think I would want to be like Uchiha boy? All he does is frown and growl and reject girls left and right. That's not healthy for anyone's libido. No offense, Sasuke."

Sasuke ignored him.

"Well, at least he's careful about his sexual preference," Karin purred, darting a glance at the man being talked about and sending him a frustrated look when he didn't even glance her way. "Not like you, who tries to impress girls left and right and gets chosen by _none. _The Sharingan is sexy as hell – your stupid sword isn't."

Suigetsu scoffed. "And how many guys do you think choose you? Zip. Zero. Nada. You're a deadweight with a stupid hairstyle and—"

"—and you probably carry your big metallic sword in an attempt to hide your really small pe—"

"We are all equally proportioned," Juugo interrupted in another attempt to calm the two down.

Karin blinked. Suigetsu raised his brows.

Juugo turned very red.

Sasuke frowned, the statement going through his head over and over. He hadn't had to activate his Sharingan since his last fight with Madara, but something about that word—

His eyes widened.

That chakra. _That chakra._

He froze, his legs almost trembling. Myriads of emotions he couldn't define blasted through him like bombs exploding out of nowhere, and he had to remind himself to breathe, and stop the flashbacks from coming. They were coming, all too fast, and they were consuming him completely.

No. It can't be. It couldn't.

No.

Then he was running back towards the direction they were all leaving from, ignoring the startled yells behind him.

. . .

Halfway into the conversation going on between Itachi and Shikamaru and the packing up Sakura was doing as they finalized their formulated plan, the older Uchiha suddenly paused, hand reaching for his sword.

Sakura tensed, while Shikamaru merely looked on, sporting his lazy look while casually laying a hand over his kunai pouch. They waited.

"Anything wrong?"

Itachi remained silent. Then he shook his head, standing up from his seat and heading towards an alarmed Sakura.

"Where is your potion? The one that makes you blind?"

"It's with me," she replied, not sure what he was getting at.

"And your chakra disguiser? Is it ready?"

"Yes, of course."

"The plan? Are we final?"

She frowned at him. "Sure, but we can take the time to revise it on the way—"

"There's no time. He's coming."

The sure tone in the statement had Shikamaru going from lazy to tense in mere seconds. "Your brother?"

Itachi nodded his head, looking at Sakura. "I made him feel parts of my chakra while you were together."

The pink-haired medic nin's mind reeled at that. "What? Why? That wasn't part of the plan! Why—"

"It's actually a very good plan," Shikamaru interrupted slowly, brows drawing together as he thought it over. "Instead of tracking him from afar…we let Sakura infiltrate?"

"Yes."

They were mad. They were both mad. She wasn't prepared to see him again – not this soon. She needed time to prepare, time to mentally ready herself.

_Get a grip, Sakura. There's no time for all that._

Indeed, there wasn't. She was being stupid.

Sakura closed her eyes briefly, getting ahold of herself. Then she opened them to give Shikamaru a warning look, and Itachi a curt nod.

"Let's do this."

Minutes later, all she could see was darkness, and a foreboding uncertainty. Shikamaru's and Itachi's chakra had disappeared completely, leaving her sitting alone in the bed with her heart beating faster than ever, even as her mind mentally ran through the things she needed to say. The things she needed to do.

Then the door slammed, and before she knew it, she was grabbed on her arms and brought to stand up, and she smelled him again. Her senses went into overload before she controlled it ruthlessly and set her face into an expression of panic and confusion.

"Why is he following you?" Sasuke asked bluntly, voice disguised just like before.

Her panic changed to recognition.

Trying to get out of his grip with her chakra lowered was like a cat trying to wrestle with an elephant. Glaring at him, she struggled. "What? Is that your greeting after rendering me unconscious and mugging me?"

"I didn't mug you," he said. "Why is he following you?"

"Who—"

"Itachi. Uchiha Itachi."

She froze. "How do you know him?"

It was as if that question was some sort of disease. He abruptly let her go, taking a few steps away from her personal space. She wondered where his teammates were before he spoke again.

"He's got a reputation, and I've battled him once. He was here. I felt him."

She kept her mouth shut and continued glaring at him. "I'm not talking to you. You said yourself not to talk to strangers and _you_ are a stranger, you—"

"Sakura."

It was difficult to act when he said her name like that, his tone similar to how it was even while disguised. She probably couldn't have faked the way her hands trembled, and the shock in her expression.

"How…how do you know who I am?"

"Why is Itachi after you?"

"Who are you?"

A pause. Then…

"I was Naruto's friend. He talked about you all the time."

_Liar._

"Are you a friend of Kabuto?" she asked point blank, voice hard.

He scoffed. "No."

She tilted her head. Tell him now? Tell him later?

She sighed.

"Good. Because I'm planning to kill him."

There was silence after her statement, and she wondered if his expression even changed.

His next words, however, made her curiosity change to irritation.

"You're stupid."

"You're not welcome here," she snapped.

"What do you plan to kill him with? Your blindness?"

Her spine went rigid.

"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't handle myself."

She heard silent footsteps, and smelled him again. Annoyed that her senses were at overdrive with her eyesight gone, she took a step back, only to be startled by the bed. She ended up sitting down in surprise. Temper rising, she stood up again and made a move to push him away.

"He's out to get Naruto. I'm going to stop him," she said simply. "And you can't stop me."

She made a blind move for the door, but as anticipated, he grabbed for her again. She was thinking he was planning to keep her in place and hurl his usual quiet insults at her (those that she learned to thicken her hide against), but he surprised her again that day by bringing her closer instead of moving her away – this time, not close enough for skin to touch, but close enough for her unseeing eyes to widen at the implication of what he was about to do.

Then she was cursing him loudly before dizziness overtook her.

. . .

The moment she woke up and still found darkness, along with the sensation of jumping mid-air every now and then, she knew immediately what had happened and almost flew into a flurry of rage and dread. Then she gathered herself before she could react outwardly, and tried to slowly make sense of things.

She knew the person carrying her wasn't Sasuke, and his large, bulky arms indicated that this was Juugo, the biggest person in their team. He must have sensed her stirring, or saw her opening her eyes, because he whispered in her ear in the softest tone possible.

"Just sleep, Haruno-san. We'll be there soon."

There soon? Where? Her temper flared again. This _wasn't _part of the plan. She wasn't some helpless person that he could just keep knocking out cold whenever the whim came to him. He was supposed to help her seek Kabuto, not try to incapacitate her or put her down like some small child or pet.

Whispering back was futile – she knew if Sasuke heard, he would just knock her out again.

The bastard. Naruto was so right about that.

The thought of her blond friend sent a twinge of guilt to her conscience. Tsunade, knowing how his emotions were very volatile when it came to this one Uchiha, had kept him out of the plan and sent him to join the still ongoing war on the other end with Shikamaru's father. She didn't like it, and even argued with the Hokage about its silliness – but in the end she knew her shishou was right. Naruto wouldn't be able to kill Sasuke in the end.

_Could you?_

She ignored the question. Of course she could.

She would. Eventually.

Closing her eyes again, Sakura let Juugo believe she was fast asleep. All the while, her brain furiously worked out this new situation and how to adapt to it.

She only hoped Itachi and Shikamaru were well-prepared and fast on following them.

. . .

Shikamaru stared at the vast expanse of woods before them, expression half-cautious, half-bored. It was six hours after Sakura had been knocked down and taken away, and so far, the former Akatsuki members indicated no sign of stopping.

It was a good thing Sakura was a genius when it came to potion-making, hence their ability to not be detected was still working wonders. Of course, only Shikamaru drank it – Itachi refused to, no matter how much the other insisted.

"Any idea where they're going?"

A futile question, really, further proved when his companion shook his head.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the Uchiha quietly. There was nothing odd about what the man was doing, to be honest. After getting control of himself after Kabuto resurrected him, of course his first priority would be finding a way to stop Kabuto. Apparently, the mad medic nin had placed a jutsu that didn't allow any of his resurrected creations to kill him as a precaution. Apparently, he even took an extra precaution by making his base undetectable to the ones he lost control of. Only someone as skilled as Karin would be able to detect this base, and even then, it wasn't a certain thing. They were gambling too much, risking too much simply by being here and doing this.

The Hokage had told them to trust Itachi for now, even telling them the truth behind his past and the eventual life he led. But how could one really trust an ex-Akatsuki? Innocent or not, he was still a murderer.

Shikamaru would trust him with this mission, yes – but not with his life. Certainly not with Sakura's. The moment they killed Sasuke, he was pretty sure Itachi would turn against them.

He was more than prepared.

Thoughts coming to a slow halt, it didn't take the Nara genius long to sense the sudden shift in chakra between the four people (or five) ahead of them. He frowned. Were they finally stopping?

"They've stopped," Itachi confirmed softly. The two stopped as well, waiting for the group to move. Half an hour later, they both determined that the group was at rest and would probably not be travelling until well after dawn.

"Let's wait until full dark," Shikamaru said. "I'll go closer to spy on what they're up to. Sakura's probably still detained and wouldn't be able to inform us."

Itachi nodded his consent.

They waited.

. . .

She woke up again to the sound of crickets all around her and rummaging at her right.

Then, whispering.

"You can touch it if you want." The male voice was smug and teasing, with just a hint of arrogance. She assumed this was Suigetsu.

"Why would I want to touch it? It's disgusting!" The female voice hissed. Karin.

"Don't deny that you're fascinated. Come on now, before it gets cold and shrivels up."

Sakura's eyes widened. Nobody seemed to notice.

There was some rustling before Karin whispered reluctantly, "It's okay."

Suigetsu scoffed. "Okay? It's warm and long. Stop being a bitch and eat it. Now."

"Stop calling me that, you shark face!"

"Just eat it, okay?"

Karin sighed. "Fine. I bet it's as hard as your stupid head."

"Careful. Don't let the insides ooze out and drip. Just suck on it if you want."

Sakura choked, realizing too late that she shouldn't have – suddenly the not-noticing part was no longer an option as silence surrounded her (apart from the loud squawk from Karin) before footsteps approached.

Sasuke spoke in his disguised voice.

"You were being foolish, so I had to subdue you. Hear me out."

Slowly, she sat up, ignoring the initial dizziness at the sudden action. "I don't even know who you are."

"You may call me Kenji," Sasuke replied. "Like I said, I'm a friend of Naruto."

She gave a doubtful look in the direction of his voice. Then she looked around pointedly. "Fine. Kenji-san. And who are these people talking about sex and blow—"

"We were _not _talking about sex and that!" Karin yelled. "It was a warm piece of bread, you idiot!"

"Don't call me that," Sakura said.

"Don't call her that," Suigetsu said at the same time. "She's really cute – for a blind girl. Haruno-san, my name is Sui – oww! Suishu! My name is Suishu!"

"I'm Juno," Juugo said, tone polite.

"I'm _not _giving _you_ my name," Karin barked out.

So much for a group trying to hide out and conceal themselves. Inwardly sighing, Sakura nodded her head. "Very well. Kenji-san? You were saying?"

There was silence as footsteps shuffled away – obviously, Sasuke had signaled them all to disperse and let him deal with this. She wondered what kind of lecture he was going to give her. Was he going to subdue her again?

She was prepared for that now.

To her surprise, what came out of his mouth wasn't a lecture.

"I'm going to help you find Kabuto."

"…you are?"

"On one condition."

"Name it," she stated.

"You allow me to kill him."

That easy?

"Done."

"And you let Itachi follow us until he turns dangerous. We will protect you from him as best as we can."

She narrowed her eyes. "That's two conditions."

Ignoring her, he went on. "Our group wants to know what his motive is. He might be an important factor in bringing Kabuto down. For Naruto. I owe him."

Sakura wondered if there was a lie somewhere in that. However, she didn't really have time to think about it. It was now or never – and with such an unexpected bargain thrown at her, how could she refuse?

The plan was back in motion.

Expression thoughtful, Sakura offered her palm. A few seconds passed before Sasuke took it, striking the deal. Then he hauled her up.

"One condition. Let me do one more thing. No consequence. It's kind of payback for your earlier treatment."

He still didn't release her hand. They were cold now. She noticed that there were a lot of marks in them, and wondered if he ever tried to heal them. Probably not.

"What?" he asked.

She smiled, gathering a tiny bit of chakra in her hand.

"This."

Then she swung and aimed at his face, the victory of the cracking impact sounding like music to her ears. It didn't even matter that she was knocked down unconscious again – this time by Karin, who took the time to scratch her face and pull her hair before delivering the final blow.

At least Sakura got one on that smug bastard.

* * *

><p><em><strong>an**: As always, reviews are appreciated. Let me know what you think, good or bad. OOC? You hated it? Liked it? Want some sasusaku wild monkey se – wait, no, never mind. XD Let me know! :)  
><strong>up next<strong>: drabble request for unicorn_paige, chapter 03 of this, oneshot kakasaku_


	3. Explode

_**a/n**: aaaah. See what I'm doing instead of sleeping? I have to wake up in two hours. zxfghjk I'm doomed. 8D  
><em>**_warning_**_: unedited, unbeta-ed, probably some loopholes, but I swear all the questions piling up will be answered slowly. Soon. Very soon. Also, this is quite short - but I'm already writing the next chapter and will make it longer. :)_

* * *

><p><strong>Scent<strong>  
><em>by: cutecrazyice<em>

_. . ._

Morning came, and with it the worries that normally didn't plague her – or at least, worries that she tried _not _to plague her. Her throat was aching from thirst and her head felt like someone inserted as many cottons as they could in it just to make her feel miserable.

Her eye ached like a bitch, too. Who knew Karin could throw a very decent punch?

Who knew that cotton-filled heads would make her want to crawl back in her lumpy portion of grass and just sleep again?

As if to answer her question, a voice came, soft and polite. She tensed by instinct, then made herself relax as something was awkwardly placed in her hand before the person patiently instructed her to drink it. It was cold water, which she deduced he got from some nearby stream.

"Thank you," she said, the thirst temporarily alleviated.

"You're welcome," Juugo replied. "Can you heal your eye?"

She could in her normal form, but she knew it wasn't advisable to use her chakra. Karin had thrown enough force for her right eye to shut down, and it would take time and a lot of chakra to heal – both of which she couldn't afford to use at the moment. Shikamaru had informed her to only use her chakra for vital emergencies, and she didn't think this counted as one. So she shook her head, and told him it wasn't really bugging her, anyway.

There was a scoff from nearby, followed by Suigetsu's voice telling Karin to just shut up and fix her stuff. The tension in the air was palpable, and she wondered if it was because of her or this was just how their team functioned.

"Where's Kenji-san?"

Silence, before she felt his presence beside her. She could tell it was him, and could tell he did it on purpose. "Are you planning to run away again?"

"Not if you keep your promise," she replied steadily, focusing her head in front of her, shoulders stiff.

"Good. You will stay with Juno."

She was about to tell him she didn't need a personal guardian, but he and the others were already shuffling away and Juugo was already there, explaining to her that he was to carry her while they travelled.

"To where?"

"Internal sources are saying Kabuto was spotted south of Suna last week, so we'll start tracing from there."

"Internal sources?"

He hesitated. "Just some friends met through travel."

Which meant either Kisame or Zetsu. There were some things she wanted to settle with the latter as well, given the guy almost killed her. But it could wait.

"I don't need to be carried, Juno-san," she informed him.

"You've got a limp, and we don't have your cane with us. It would be best if I carried you."

"I can handle myself—"

"Sakura, it would be best if he carried you," Sasuke interrupted in a tone that left no room for arguments. "We'll get you a cane in the next village."

She held her chin up. "There's no need to be bossy. You need something from me. I need something from you."

"Hn."

The uttered syllable had memories coming back to her, one by one by—

She shut them off. As if realizing his slip, he spoke again.

"Very well."

Sighing, she reluctantly let Juugo carry her. And off they went.

. . .

When you've been a team for a couple of years and someone new was added into the mix, either of two things was bound to happen: one, the new member got welcomed right away and ended up working well with the rest of the team members; or two, there was mutual dislike and the new and old members just ended up trying not to kill each other.

When Sakura was added into the team (because whether they liked it or not, this so-called mission was going to take days, maybe even weeks, and that meant they had to work with her to make this easier), it was an uncanny balance of both.

Juugo seemed to take an instant liking to her. But then again, this was Juugo, who was pretty much the most even-tempered out of them all when his seal was not activated. Probably the kindest, too.

Suigetsu had somehow taken a liking to Sakura, too, but it was more of a detached kind of physical interest. He would never offer the pink-haired medic nin a ride on his back, but if she offered a flirting session or a kiss, he would be more than ready to take it.

Karin loathed the new addition – this much was obvious. If the way she punched Sakura wasn't any indication, then the way she glared at the blind girl every few minutes was proof enough of that. There were the snide comments too, subtle but clearly aimed to hurt.

Sakura remained passive to it all – the kindness, the flirting, the jabs.

They've been travelling for a good two days now and were nearly in the village where Kabuto was last spotted. While Kisame would never be a teammate, given how the man and Suigetsu despised each other, Sasuke knew the information he provided was accurate when it did not go against his own plans. It helped that the sword wielder had no love lost for Kabuto and wanted him dead, though not enough to get involved.

"Still no trace from here?" Sasuke asked Karin quietly.

The red-haired girl shook her head. "None so far. This forest area is clean of his chakra."

"Are you sure? Maybe he's just covered his tracks well. He's got lots of tricks under his sleeve," Sakura reminded them from her spot on Juugo's back.

"I kno—fine," Karin bit off before she could say she knew, remembering Sasuke's warning to not let their new companion know of their skills as it might blow their cover. She glared at Sakura, who looked completely oblivious. "I'll check every inch twice, if it pleases you." The sarcasm was thin, but there.

"Thank you," replied Sakura calmly.

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke observed them as they jumped from tree to tree. His ex-teammate's eye was still swollen shut from the punch Karin had delivered, but it didn't look as grotesque as it did two days ago. She refused to heal it, saying something along the lines of conserving her chakra for better use.

His own bruise had been healed – healed by himself, despite Karin's offer to heal it for him. It still throbbed slightly, indicating just how strong her chakra could be when inflicted properly. She didn't even have to use her whole strength for it.

She was different. She'd been different since that first time he crossed paths with her in the marketplace. Even blind, she was no longer the scared girl he once knew.

He wondered if she could kill him now, given the chance. If she knew who he really was.

Inwardly frowning at where his thoughts were headed, Sasuke concentrated back on his biggest concern at the moment.

_Where was Itachi?_

There were no signs of chakra or any form of contact since that day in the village, which made him almost think that he was hallucinating. But no – now that he recognized it, he was certain it was Itachi's and that the man was somehow following Sakura with a purpose in mind. But why Sakura? Why not follow Sasuke himself, who he still had some unfinished business with?

_Because there's the possibility that it's not really Itachi._

His fists clenched slightly before he managed to control himself. Something hot and raw flashed inside him and simmered at the thought that Kabuto would do this. But then again, the man was after the world. There was no stopping him unless Sasuke did his part.

He was going to kill Kabuto for this.

"Kenji-san? Can we stop? Just for a minute?"

At her interruption, the raven-haired man temporarily turned off all thoughts of revenge and glanced beside him.

"Why?"

"Yeah, why?" Karin piped in, sneering.

"I need to go do some bathroom business," Sakura replied wearily. "Please?"

Suigetsu's eyes glinted at the words _bathroom business, _but one look from their leader had him shutting his mouth before he could utter the lewd comment. They all ceased jumping as Juugo took Sakura down to the ground and politely asked her if she needed assistance. He realized too late that it was an improper offer, turning red when Suigetsu snickered.

"Maybe Kara can assist you," he amended, clearly uncomfortable.

Karin made protesting noises upon hearing her fake name. But before she could continue, Sakura shook her head and said she could handle it with the proper directions.

"I'm not going to run away," she reminded them all lightly, a faint smile curving her lips.

Nodding his consent, Sasuke watched as Juugo gave out the directions. Then he watched as Sakura followed it with precision, disappearing from their sight to do her business.

"Should we follow her?" Suigetsu asked, grinning gleefully. "It would be—"

"No. We'll give her a few minutes."

The shark-man merely looked at him, expression changing from jovial to serious. "Are you sure?"

"Hn."

The look remained.

It seemed Suigetsu was doing that a lot lately – observing him, waiting for something. For what, Sasuke didn't know. He ignored it and inertly stared at a giant tree in front of him, keeping his ears open and his senses alert.

Ten minutes later, Sakura still hadn't returned.

"She probably ran away," Karin guessed, the smirk blatant on her face.

Suigetsu scoffed. "She wouldn't do that. She's well-mannered – unlike some people—"

"Excuse you, but who punched our dear Sasuke-kun in the face? That's _not _what you call well-mannered, you idiot."

There was a mutter of words like _hung-up miserable woman _and _no point arguing _before he merely scoffed again and folded his arms.

Five minutes later, there was still no sign of her. Either her condition was slowing her down, or Karin was right and she really had run away. But the Sakura he knew wouldn't back out on a deal…would she?

He shook his head. He had to stop thinking that he knew her, because he didn't. Not anymore.

"Maybe I should go check on her," Juugo volunteered softly. He was about to say something else when their red-haired teammate's head snapped up so suddenly, it looked like she almost cricked her neck at the action.

A second later, Sasuke felt it too. His head didn't snap up, but his fists slowly clenched, and he was already pulling out his sword. One look at Karin told him that she was confused and irritated for not spotting the chakra earlier.

She was scared, too, as recognition slowly set in.

"What the—"

Her words were cut off by an unexpected blast in the middle of the clearing, which had them scattering. Karin toppled to the ground in a cry of pain. Suigetsu let out a loud stream of curses, helping their female teammate up before bringing out his own sword. Juugo almost got hit, but managed to get away—

Another blast rocked the area – bigger this time, and further away. Then, a burst of chakra.

It was headed straight for Sakura.

. . .

Her vision was coming back.

She hadn't anticipated them to keep too much of an eye on her for two days straight, pausing only to sleep every once in a while – and even then, she knew she was being watched by four pairs of eyes with one agenda but different thoughts in mind. Karin's laser glare was easily identifiable (heck, if the snide comments weren't any indication, she didn't know what was), and Juugo's kindness made her feel slightly guilty before she tamped it down and let her conscience die a quick death.

It was Suigetsu and Sasuke who were the most unreadable.

The sword-wielder kept making the moves on her, flirting and generally supporting her when Karin had something to say against her – but Sakura knew there was something there, something deep down that she couldn't identify yet.

Sasuke was the haziest.

He barely interacted with her, except to reluctantly answer whatever question she may have directed at him. Then he went back to ignoring her as if she didn't exist, and while it grated at first, she knew it might be for the best.

Blinking her eyes, Sakura looked around and feigned ignorance. She could already see shadows of trees and rocks behind a film of light gray, and she knew that pretty soon the subtle chakra she used would disappear completely, exposing her green eyes and blowing her cover. Pretending to squat and pee, she inserted one hand under her dress and rummaged inside for the potion pills she kept in a hidden pouch. She had known they would take her backpack, and only kept the non-suspicious items there.

She needed that darn cane. She couldn't ride on Juugo's back forever, despite his gracious offer. She was pretty sure Karin would never allow her to ride on _her _back, and she didn't trust Suigetsu enough for that.

She never wanted to ride on Sasuke's. Ever.

It was during this train of thought that the earth shook, loud enough for her to anticipate it.

The second one was closer – and this she did not anticipate. Maybe it helped that her line of vision could see shadows now, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to avoid the large tree plummeting towards her at breakneck speed. She dove to the side, ignoring the way her elbows scraped rough pebbles before she stood up and cursed inwardly.

The pouch. She dropped the pouch.

Stupid. _Stupid!_

Kneeling down and ignoring everything around her, she felt around her with her hands, frustration mounting as they came up empty. Her mission depended on that pouch. Her life depended on that pouch.

She couldn't let Naruto down. She couldn't.

_Please. Please let me find it._

Then she froze as she felt the huge burst of chakra amidst the chaos, getting stronger by the second and headed her way. Her eyes widened. Itachi.

Another explosion. Panic skittered through her before she calmed herself down, furiously thinking of how to retrieve her most valuable asset to this mission. She stood back up and stepped away from the smoke and the rubble, trying to find an area to hide and wait it out, not sure whether Itachi was there to kill her or save her—

"Sakura."

Then Sasuke was right behind her.

She closed her eyes. He couldn't see her like this. It would ruin everything.

Her blood ran cold at what she needed to do.

It needed to be done. There was no other choice.

"He's after me."

His silence was confirmation enough.

On the last explosion, the earth shook once more – and Sakura used one burst of chakra, inflicting it on her eyes until pain shot through her nerves and everything was dark again. There was no more time to lament the real loss, but there was enough to acknowledge the hitch in her heart at the consequence of what she had just done.

But there was simply no time to think about that now.

Turning around, she faced Sasuke. Saw nothing, not even shadows.

"Where are they?"

"We'll all meet up later."

She nodded her head.

"Kara's too valuable. You can't be with her right now."

She nodded her again, numb. Karin was valuable.

Sakura was bait.

She felt his hands taking hers, the coldness in them familiar now, and knew what he wanted her to do. With effort, Sakura placed them on his shoulders, loathing the thought of touching him, of being this near him. She loathed the thought that they would both be alone, that he might plan her death just for the sake of getting to his dead brother.

She loathed the thought that she might never see again.

The smoke was suffocating, but even more so was the scent that still clung to him since the last time they met.

His hands shifted to her waist, steadying her. Every cell in her body protested, but she bit her tongue and remained silent, letting him.

Lock. Don't think. _Lock._

She steeled herself and allowed herself to be carried on his back, her whole body stiff. So was his, obviously not used to shouldering for others. He told her bluntly to hang on, and made a move to jump—

Another explosion. Another burst of chakra.

Then it was too late, and all hell broke loose.

. . .

Upon finding the pouch (a miracle, really), horror filled Shikamaru's eyes. Then they hardened as he stared at Itachi, who looked pensive and unable to move. The chakra he had earlier exposed was back to hiding now, but it was useless. There was no doubt that Sasuke's team knew they were already being followed.

Not that the explosions wouldn't have clued them in.

"What the hell happened? This wasn't part of the plan."

The Uchiha kept on staring at the ground.

"It wasn't."

"No one kills Sakura. I _won't _let that happen."

Itachi finally turned his head to the Nara genius. "Somebody wants to."

There was a pause or two before Shikamaru finally looked down at the spot where Itachi had been staring. His stomach nearly stopped at the sight.

Lying on the ground were some ruined clay birds.

* * *

><p><strong><em>an_**_: Thank you for reading! Oh, Lord, Sakura's Unicorn's tale of the third chapter curse is killing me. D: Paigeee, why did you have to say that? Now I'm gonna fret. 8D_  
><em><strong>up next<strong>: chapter 04 (more SS moments), some drabbles for the prompt request. :)_


	4. Hidden

_**a/n**: HI. So sorry it took so long. HI. :D  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Scent<br>**_by: cutecrazyice_**  
><strong>

. . .

When Sakura was fifteen, she'd been assigned her first solo mission. She was to escort a blind lord to a village at which there was a very important trade fair of ancient relics – a B-ranked mission that was only supposed to take a day or two of travel, tops.

Of course, she had anticipated being followed by thieves who wanted the lord's relics and would do a nything to obtain them. The chase, for the most part, had been thrilling – the kind that made her adrenaline surge as she carried the man on her back, feeling the wind rush through her hair and seeing her surroundings blur into a snowy film. Her mind was focused on one goal, one task: _escape, escape, escape_.

She'd never considered the frustration of the blind man she was carrying, never contemplated that the only thought running through his mind was this: he was prey, and the predators were coming.

Now, she understood.

For the past hour, they'd tried to throw off their pursuers who seemed keen on blowing up whatever obstacle came their way – a testament to their recklessness and fearsomeness. It wasn't enough that Sasuke had taken the most complicated paths – they were being chased, and chased hard.

Even from afar, Sakura could feel the thirst of the predators about to catch their prey – it was like watching vultures circle their victim. Anticipating. Hungrily waiting. She was the dying mouse, the meal they wanted to have.

They were closing in.

Sasuke hadn't talked to her at all, opting to concentrate on the task at hand. He was fast, faster than she'd ever remembered – a shinobi of lightning speed and agility, despite the burden on his back. A bomb exploding near them made the ground shake and she instinctually gripped him tighter, pressing herself closer and not wanting every second of it. He faltered at her movement, but otherwise kept going.

"You're fast. Who trained you?" Flashbacks of Orochimaru came to mind, of the betrayal…

She mentally erased it.

"Don't talk. I'm concentrating," he said.

She knew he could talk – she knew he could run and carry her and talk all at the same time. He just opted not to do the latter.

Another explosion rocked the ground below them, but there was no chakra to identify the attacker. There was nothing except the sound of wind and bombs, terrifying and exhilarating.

Another hour, and it was raining. The cold weather seeped through her soaked dress and she shivered as she clung to him. Her eyes throbbed – a consistent pain that she knew would never go away now. It was her own fault for dropping that pouch.

"The village's near," Sasuke said. "We'll head—"

Sakura interrupted instantly. "No. We can't go to the village. They'll just attack the civilians. I know their type – they won't stop for innocent people. They won't—"

"Like I was saying, we'll head north. Find a place to hide you."

_Hide me?_

Half an hour later, they passed the village. The attacks had stopped, but the rain was falling harder – it blocked any sound except their breathing, coating them like a frozen threat.

The cave, inconspicuous and cold, was like salvation. Sasuke set her on her feet and maneuvered her forward. She felt him behind her, hands on her shoulders as he guided her toward the wall until her cheek touched the icy, smooth surface. His body molded with her back, and she stifled a shudder. There was complete silence, save for the rain, as his chakra surged slightly before quieting down, surrounding them both – then, the rain could no longer be heard as well.

Sakura could feel his breath on her skin – she knew he was only staying as near her as possible to conserve the chakra he was using to camouflage them both. His warmth seeped into her skin, blocking the cold and shivers that the rainy weather brought on.

"I'll be back," Sasuke murmured in her ear. Then the warmth was gone and the sound of the rain returned.

Turning from the wall, Sakura stood absolutely still, ears straining to hear something – anything. There was the usual thunder and the patter of rain and—

Another blast. Very faint.

The wait was agonizing.

She didn't know how long she stood there – it felt like hours. Anxiety started to consume her, so she took a step forward, only to stumble and nearly fall down. Fear backed her up against the wall once more where she tried not to think, tried not to feel, tried not to—

A hand clamped on her mouth and the panic came. The urge to scream was vicious, but she refrained from doing so by fisting her hands. Then she smelled his scent – strong and familiar. She also smelled the suffocating scent of blood – just as strong, just as familiar.

"We need to stay here for a few hours. There's still two left."

"How many did you kill?"

There was no answer.

Instead, he quietly told her he would be sealing off the cave entrance and they would have to wait it out. She didn't respond.

Where was Shikamaru?

The thought that he was dead and only Itachi was alive crossed her mind before she dismissed it. No. Tsunade was not stupid. Neither was Shikamaru.

Angry at being so helpless, she quietly sank to the ground, hoping this mission would soon be over.

. . .

She'd been silent for the past hour now, opting to stay in her corner and hide in the darkness – only her face illuminated. The last time Sakura spoke to him was when he'd sealed off the cave with his chakra, making its entrance, as well as their presence, undetectable. He would have been fine with the silence, really. He was used to this - preferred it, even.

However, Sasuke couldn't ignore the fact that on the opposite side of the small cave, her face shone clearly – and he could see her wince every now and then. She kept rubbing her temples, then rubbing her eyes – then, as if realizing she wasn't supposed to do that, she'd fist her hands and resolutely place them on her lap.

A few minutes later, she winced again and bit her lower lip.

"Are you okay?" he asked reluctantly.

It was as if his voice – which he still tried to disguise, despite the henge disappearing – was some sort of trigger. Her wince disappeared and she put on the blandest expression she could, nodding her head slightly at him.

"Yeah. Just a headache," she replied, hands twitching on her lap.

Yet, a few minutes later, a pained expression crossed her face. She stifled it by pulling her legs up and placing her head on her knees, her hands crumpling her skirt.

Sasuke's hand moved of its own accord toward her, almost reaching out for Sakura. Then, as if she sensed the movement, her head snapped up from her knees and—

He froze. Stared.

Green eyes stared back, unseeing.

He didn't know where the white film went. Why were her eyes so green and clear now? Her head moved to the left, to the right, then back in his direction. Sasuke realized she wasn't looking at him – her pupils had no reaction to the changing light.

His hand dropped back to his lap. Relief coursed through him at not being recognized – an injury from the last blast caused him to drop his physical disguise. There was also some other feeling coursing through him alongside the relief and, after a moment's deliberation, he decided it was just restlessness from all the running – and the things that still needed to be done.

He heard her sigh then, with a rustle, lie down on the cold floor.

_It's damp_, he almost said.

He clamped his mouth shut and tried to ignore her.

The bleeding from the left side of his stomach had stopped. He'd only managed to infuse a small amount of healing chakra into it before he and Sakura started running. Then he was fighting off nin after nin, faces he couldn't recognize, trying to find the one person he wanted to see – wanting proof that the chakra he'd felt earlier was really from the person who was supposed to be dead.

He knew Deidara was around, too – he couldn't risk fighting anymore. So he covered their tracks and ducked back inside the cave, sealing it off as fast as possible. His wound would have to wait, and the blood…

Sasuke remembered Sakura's expression when she asked how many he'd killed.

She had none.

He felt vaguely unsettled.

Who was this girl?

He shook his head and realized parts of his wound were still bleeding, but he knew it would stop if he didn't move. So he stayed where he was, back against the damp wall, hand over his stained clothes, pressing against his skin and ignoring the slight pain it caused – this would help, in the end.

Sasuke closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of rest as he let everything else fade – the sound of her breathing, the sound of his, the smell of blood. Everything vanished except for the visions in his head.

Itachi's smile during his brother's dying moments.

Sakura's pink hair paling in the glow of his deadly Chidori.

Something warm touched his arm and he stiffened, his kunai coming up and lodging into something soft before he could stop his hand. Eyes snapping open, he found Sakura in front of him, trying not to move as the tip of his kunai lingered on her throat. But she didn't move her hand away, either.

"I can smell the blood from here," she murmured quietly. "Is it yours?"

It wasn't just his, but he chose not to reply. Instead, he removed the weapon from her neck, watching as she frowned, her lips pale and dry.

"Let me heal you," she said.

"I'm fine."

"I can heal you."

He shook his head, then remembered that she couldn't see the movement. "You can't use chakra. They'll detect us."

"I have other ways."

Slowly, as if to not startle him, she removed her hand from his arm and stepped back. She hiked the skirt of her dress up slightly and placed her hand underneath. The flash of skin, creamy and white, was enough to have him swiveling his head to the side. A ripping sound made him wonder what the hell was going on.

Only when her hands were back on his arm did he allow himself to look at her. She held a small bottle filled with – he couldn't really see much in the darkness, but it looked purple and thick.

"Can you remove your shirt, Kenji-kun?"

He absorbed the false name from her lips and contemplated before realizing this was Sakura – she'd just nag him about it until he complied, much like Naruto did. The memory was so clear it surprised him. Frowning, he tried to let the memory go and quietly removed his shirt.

"It's done," he said.

Her hand moved again, trailing blindly until she found his hand still pressed against the wound. Gently removing it, she placed the piece of cloth she had ripped from her dress and began to clean the sides before taking his hand once more and asking him to place it against the wound.

A part of him whispered that she shouldn't be allowed to stain her hands with his blood, but he kept that locked away, too. It was a useless thought.

After Sakura opened the bottle and poured the liquid on her palms, she sat down on the ground and crawled closer to Sasuke. She took his hand away again as her fingers skimmed across his stomach before she flattened her hands and applied the salve.

The relief was instantaneous.

She kept rubbing until his skin absorbed the thick liquid, then poured more from the bottle and repeated the process. Soon, the throbbing had completely disappeared and the bottle was empty. He looked down and found the wound had gotten smaller, so small that it was barely a nick, hardly dangerous. He looked up and saw those clear, green eyes focused on his face, though not directly in his eyes.

"Are your eyes hurting you?"

She hesitated before nodding her head.

"You shouldn't have used the whole bottle."

"You needed it more than I do. I'll be fine," she replied. Then she crawled away and sat up with her back against the wall again, but this time, she sat beside him – leaving a good few inches of space between them.

"I'm sleepy," she muttered.

"Go to sleep."

"But—"

"I'll take first watch. I'll wake you up in an hour or so."

Sakura nodded her head, closed her eyes, and promptly fell asleep. She was breathing so softly that it could barely be heard.

Sasuke's eyes strayed to her hands again, which lay open at her sides – the blood was still damp. Unconsciously, his hands picked up the cloth she'd abandoned, moving to wipe hers.

He stopped himself at the last second. Thought it over.

It was _his_ blood, he decided. He should clean it up.

Sasuke slowly placed the cloth on her palms, one quiet swipe on each until only the dried blood remained. She didn't stir, obviously knocked out from exertion. This was bad for a kunoichi. If he was an enemy, she would be dead already.

He shook his head. Not if. He _was_ an enemy. She just didn't know it yet.

He stared at her face. There had to be something wrong for her not to react to his touch. Her mouth was set down, her eyebrows scrunched. He kept staring until her frown deepened and her forehead wrinkled as she groaned softly.

She'd lied to him about her eyes not being too painful.

Unexpected anger flared and he found himself standing up, not knowing what to do. He still couldn't risk the use of chakra to heal her, and she – she –

She was so stupid.

Sure, he needed to carry her for the rest of their journey and that wouldn't be easy if he was wounded and weak, but…

The anger increased.

Feeling useless for the first time in a long time, he sat back down, knowing there was nothing to do but wait. When they got to the village, he would find a potion to soothe her eyes, just like hers had soothed his wound. He shouldn't owe her anything.

And he should really stop thinking.

Closing his eyes, Sasuke brooded.

. . .

When she woke up a few hours later, Sakura found that the pain in her eyes had receded, and her skin felt comfortable and warm. The darkness overwhelmed her for a second before she slowly let the panic ease off, one hand lifting to see what was causing such warmth.

She found an extra cloth – 'No, a cloak,' she thought – over her dress and deduced that Sasuke must have covered her up in her sleep.

"Kenji-kun?"

There was no response. There was no sign of chakra or breathing.

The panic spiked again.

"Kenji?"

Refusing to let fear overtake her, she felt around, easing to the left before remembering that she had fallen asleep with Sasuke on her right. So she crawled that way, dreading the empty space to come, the fear that his camouflage hadn't worked and they were about to die—

She bumped into something solid, and the solid object moved. A hand clamped on her wrist, bringing her closer. She knew what was coming next, already anticipating the kunai even as relief spread through her at the knowledge that he was still alive – that her mission was still underway.

"It's me," she said simply.

Sakura felt him stiffen, felt the kunai leave her throat.

"You fell asleep," she declared softly.

"Just a doze," Sasuke replied. "We were safe enough."

No, he wasn't just dozing. If he was, he would have woken up at her first call and would have sensed her movement. But he didn't.

"Is your wound okay?"

"It's fine."

Maybe fighting off those nin – killing them – had taken most of his strength and chakra. The thought of a weak Sasuke never fit in with what she knew of him, so something must have been up. She frowned, contemplating.

The frown grew deeper as she realized something.

"You infused chakra into my eyes," she stated, almost to herself. "You said yourself it was risky and they might detect us…" Her eyes widened. "So you doubled the camouflage and used the rest to heal my eyes."

The anger slowly seeped in, like a fog creeping up on its unsuspecting victim.

"You just wasted your chakra on something that didn't require it."

"You lied about being in pain," he told her bluntly.

"How would you know that?" she snapped.

"Your expressions are unguarded in your sleep. And you call yourself a kunoichi."

The anger disappeared, to be replaced by surprise. What else did he see? What else did he find out?

"I'm no longer a kunoichi," she bit off, almost cautiously.

He remained silent.

"Thank you, though," she reluctantly said. "But don't do it again."

There was a long silence before—

"Now I don't owe you anything."

There was honestly no proper response to that, Sakura thought.

She felt like this bitter Sasuke was someone she didn't know. Just because his pride made her remember how he was when they were still young, didn't mean the same boy was here.

That boy was gone.

'Well, this is Sasuke _now_, so you'd better get your act together and stop reacting to whatever he says or does.'

Shaking her head, she took the cloak from her body and handed it to him.

"Keep it," he muttered. "You need to cover those blood stains."

'What about your blood stains?' Sakura wondered.

Almost as if he heard her silent question, he informed her that he had a spare cloak to cover himself up with until they could find decent clothes in the village. Then he instructed her to stay still as he partially removed the camouflage and slipped out to check.

Five minutes later, he came back and gave her the go signal by lightly pushing her forward with his palm. His hands guided her along, letting her position herself on his back once more. As he took off, she shivered from the night wind that blew past them – shivered as his warm skin brushed hers.

There were no words at all.

. . .

Shikamaru observed the older Uchiha from the corner of his eye, mind whirling with a myriad of questions, but hesitant to voice a single one.

"You might as well ask, Nara-san. It's not like I have that many secrets to keep."

The Nara genius doubted that very, very much. But he kept these doubts hidden and nodded his head, thinking that since the offer was out in the open, he might as well be blunt about it.

"Why did you let your chakra leak out on purpose?"

There was silence as they trudged through the thickening trees, trying to find the most inconspicuous path. No sign of chakra could be found anywhere, but that was normal when shinobi were trying to hunt each other down.

Akatsuki were very good at hunting.

After a while, Itachi finally spoke. "I felt Deidara's chakra and wanted to distract him. He's always hated me."

"Did it work?"

"For a while. But it seems they're after Sakura. Or maybe my brother."

"They're after Sakura," Shikamaru intoned, voice certain. "We need to figure out why."

"Figuring out is pointless, Nara-san. We need to kill them before they destroy our mission."

Shikamaru rolled the idea around in his head. He was never one for violence, but it was the only quick option at the moment – they needed to do it before Sakura (or Sasuke and his team, especially Karin) got killed.

He sighed at the prospect of blood being shed too early. This was troublesome.

Might as well get it over with.

"Call me Shikamaru," he said, turning to the Uchiha. "Looks like this mission is going to take longer than expected."

Itachi nodded his head. "Then call me Itachi."

* * *

><p><em><strong>an**: A million, million thanks to Sakura's Unicorn for beta-ing this. I've learned a lot from her and she is awesome. Seriously. AMAZING WOMAN. Read her fic, you guys, it's just as awesome as she is._

_ Thanks to the general girl, too, for helping me fix a very stubborn paragraph. And for island hopping with me, Eunhyuk and LMH. 8D_

_P.S. Any mistakes you see here are purely mine. Yup.  
><em>


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